Immunization is a principal feature for improving the health of people. Despite the availability of a variety of successful vaccines against many common illnesses, infectious diseases remain a leading cause of health problems and death. Significant problems inherent in existing vaccines include the need for repeated immunizations, and the ineffectiveness of the current vaccine delivery systems for a broad spectrum of diseases.
In order to develop vaccines against pathogens that have been recalcitrant to vaccine development, and/or to overcome the failings of commercially available vaccines due to expense, complexity, and underutilization, new methods of antigen presentation must be developed which will allow for fewer immunizations, more efficient usage, and/or fewer side effects to the vaccine.